The objective of this paper is to present a new and efficient method to analyse and separate stresses in composite materials. The hybrid method associates the stress-optic law for orthotropic materials with the compatibility and equlibrium equations for anisotropic bodies. The solutions of these equatios are represented by analytical functions of complex variables. The method proposes that these analytical functions be approximate by polynomial functions. These aapproximate functions are determined by the association of the compatibility equilibrium equatios with experimental data (obtained from the photoelastic response) and numerical methods (Newton-Raphson and least squares method). The method presents as a major advantage the capacity to separate stresses precisely in small or even in large regions of photoelastic plane models, without needign to collect isoclinic fringe data. The thesis presents excellent results obtained by the application of the developed method in some specific cases, where a fiber glass reinforced epoxy resin is used as a model material, will be shown. Three cases are studied: A) Rectangular bar in tension with the fiber reinforcement axis parallel to the applied load direction B) Rectangular bar in tension with the fiber reinforcement axis making a known angle with the applied load direction C) Semi-infinite plane subjected to a concentrated edge load which is perpendicular to the fiber reinforcement axis.